Welcome back summer people!

Hej! Här är jag igen (here I am again.) Refreshed, and ready to go. Does it have something with sending the little ones off to school perhaps? ;-) I hope you all had a very happy summer, we did. We spent four weeks in the motherland, i.e. Sweden, i.e. literally the land of my mother! It was a wonderful break and luckily for us the weather was great so we enjoyed days on the beach, touristing, walking in the forests, and basically hanging out with friends and family. The province that my family comes from is Skåne in the far south, and it's beautiful, but I'd love to know more about your roots dear reader and where you are from.

There's a wonderful book that I've enjoyed called Popular Music from Vittula by Mikael Niemi that I highly recommend. It introduced me to another province in the highest north, Norrbotten, right next to Finland. Pajala is the name of the town and it's rough and fierce and full of characters that grab your heart and make you wonder about humanity. "Popular Music from Vittula" on Amazon

Here is a quote from the book that I can relate to:

“The most dangerous thing of all, and something he wanted to warn me about above all else, the one thing that had consigned whole regiments of unfortunate young people to the twilight world of insanity, was reading books. This objectionable practice had increased among the younger generation, and Dad was more pleased than the could say to not that I had not yet displayed any such tendencies. Lunatic asylums were overflowing with folk who'd been reading too much. Once upon a time they'd been just like you and me, physically strong, straightforward, cheerful, and well balanced. Then they'd started reading. Most often by chance. A bout of flu perhaps, with a few days in bed. An attractive book cover that had aroused some curiosity. And suddenly the bad habit had taken hold. The first book had led to another. Then another, and another, all links in a chain that led straight down into the eternal night of mental illness. It was impossible to stop. It was worse than drugs."

- Ha, ha! So true. But luckily for me our whole family enjoys reading so I've not been locked up quite yet. :-)